Seed Oils Face Health Scrutiny Amid Processing Concerns
Seed oils are plant-based cooking oils derived from various plant seeds, including canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, soybean and sunflower. Canola is a popular choice for deep-frying in restaurants and the global canola oil market was valued at USD$29m in 2022. Meanwhile, sunflower oil is common in home cooking and was valued at US$35bn in 2023. Seed oils emerged in the 1900s as an alternative to partially hydrogenated oils.
However, the use of seed oils in ultra-processed foods has raised health concerns, from those in politics to social media users, leading to the scrutiny of one of the strongest kitchen staples.
Seed oils are unhealthy to drink, but fine to eat
Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ended his campaign to support Donald Trump.
“President Trump has promised me control of the public health agencies, which are HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH and a few others, then also the USDA, which is key to making America healthy. Because we’ve got to get off of seed oils, and we’ve got to get off of pesticide intensive agriculture,” Kennedy said.
At a campaign rally in New York, Trump said that he would allow Kennedy to “go wild on food and medicines” if he wins the election.
Over on video-sharing platform TikTok, some users have claimed that the use of seed oils is behind their acne and even infertility.
“It’s so odd that the internet has gone wild demonising these things,” shared Dr Christopher Gardner, a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and a nutrition scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Centre. “They are not to be feared, people are cooking with these oils, not drinking them. In a situation where you need some kind of fat for cooking or food preparation, you can use plant oils or you can use butter or lard.”
Seed oil supply chain and healthcare advice
Mayo Clinic wellness dietitian Jason S. Ewoldt, M.S., RDN, said that there are neither good or bad foods.
“It truly is the context of the entire diet,” he said. “We do know that diets high in processed foods are linked to poorer health outcomes. The seed oil is not the likely driver for negative health effects. These processed foods also tend to have higher levels of refined carbohydrates, salt and sugar, which are all things we know in excess can impact health negatively.”
Over in Canada, Cargill is expanding its canola processing capacity with a new facility in Saskatchewan. From 2025 it will process 1m metric tonnes of canola each year.
“The addition of the Regina facility to the Cargill network will play a critical role connecting the Canadian canola industry to the expanding domestic and global market opportunities for vegetable oil, high quality meal and biofuels,” shared Jeff Vassart, President of Cargill Canada. “The current construction environment is full of unique challenges and this project has faced many headwinds since we broke ground, but we are committed to becoming a best-in-class option for canola growers in the region, along with helping decarbonise the global food and fuel supply chain.”
Elsewhere in the supply chain, China's rapeseed meal prices have fallen 22% this year, due to abundant oilseed supply and rising domestic production.
"The current (edible oil) domestic consumption is not strong, and there is an abundant supply of domestic stocks,” said Ma Wenfeng, Senior Analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultancy.
Make sure you check out the latest industry news and insights at Healthcare Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Healthcare LIVE 2025
Healthcare Digital is a BizClik brand
